We are always seeking leaders who want to pull off something big - no matter when they lived.

Someone who unified warring tribes on the steppes of Mongolia and built an empire four times the size of the Roman Empire by the time of his death is worthy of consideration.  Even more so when we consider that the resulting empire continued to expand until it occupied 22% of the Earth’s land mass.  

After watching a screening of “Mongol” at this year’s Indianapolis Film Festival, I delved deep into the rich history of Genghis Kahn and the Mongolian Empire.  Technology is wonderful for those who are curious.  Check out Wikipedia’s various entries, download this map overlay for Google Earth to zoom down onto the steppes of Mongolia to see it for yourself, or watch this BBC special on YouTube.

Scattered tribes and ancient kingdoms across Eurasia lived under the belief that they were the masters of their domain.  With a cloud of dust and lighting speed, the Mongolian army caught many by surprise.  As time went by, they would meet little or no resistance as word of the ferocity of their victories spread quickly across Eurasia.

To some degree, today’s globalization mirrors the world as it was during the time of the Mongolian Empire.  Industries, corporations, and organizations of all sizes have existed for many years with moderate or incremental change.  With the rise of the digital revolution, we are seeing the rise of digital Genghis Khans in every industry and sector, creating massive transformations.  

How do you make sure you are a digital Genghis Khan?

• Approach every battle with an integrated strategy - use the digital equivalents of a disciplined cavalry, long-distance archers, and siege tactics.
• Fight fiercely as parts of the whole, not individual warriors - one arrow can be broken, but a bundle of ten cannot.
• Abandon the entitlement of the past for the meritocracy of the present - reward achievement and abilities alone.
• Recruit artisans and talents from the cities you conquer - use their innovative minds to create new strategies and tactics. 
• Build strong discipline within your ranks by promoting close community.
• Develop and maintain an efficient courier system that allows widely distributed teams to react quickly on many fronts.

What are your thoughts?  Who is today’s equivalent of Genghis Khan?

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 9:58 pm and is filed under leadership, strategy, web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.